One last Chicago Trip

Before we moved, we took one last trip to Chicago. We stayed with Chelsey and Jared and met up with my family. We missed Jordan though. It was lots of fun! Except I think we warmed out our welcome when I let Hallie jump on Chelsey’s air mattress and we woke up with it flat :). We had fun eating out, going to the Field Museum, the Aquarium, Millenium park and SHOPPING! It's sad knowing that we're not that close to Chels anymore. Luckily Jared's from Texas :). Come back soon!!!

All kids LOVE Dustin. Seriously! He is so cute with them and I love him.

My tired blue eyed babe

Glad to see Natalie relaxing!! She left all her kids but Kate at home and I was so glad she was able to come and get a little break.

American Girl Store

Grandma Robin took Hallie to the American Girl store. She absolutely loved it. My mom told her to pick something out and she was pretty adomant about getting pj's for her "baby Peyton" and a bouncer. Thanks mom!

These aren't the best quality pictures, but I had to post them. Peyton was so funny when she saw this baby in the display case. She was trying so hard to get it. And then threw the biggest fit when we pulled her away.

Fire Up Big Team

What would Father's Day be without a tribute to my wonderful Dad. I respect and admire my dad in so many ways. I don't really know how to put into words how great he really is.

Here's just a few things I LOVE about my dad:

• GREAT EXAMPLE. He has always been a strong father figure. I admire this even more knowing that he didn't have that growing up. He broke the cycle in his family and has led a great life he should be proud of.


• SO supportive. He is always there rooting me on regardless of what it is. Dance recitals(that's saying alot if you know what they were like :) Think 3 days straight, 3+ hours each), cheer performances, half-times, track meets, birthdays, high school dances (he's got "the look" down), holiday's, etc.


• SO FUN! Whether it's being woken up to every birthday to him shaking you and dancing/singing "They Say It's Your Birthday", hearing "Fire Up Big Team, Fire Up" (inside joke :)), some sweet headstands or other crazy stunts/poses, rocking out in the car, he always can make any situation fun.


• THE MOST patient person I know! Thanks to Mom on that one. I think she helped mold that trait :).


• Has a huge soft heart. I LOVE it.


• His cute little quiet laugh he does before he's about to tell a joke or something he finds funny.


• His love that he shows to his Mom.


• The many trips he's taken our family on. What great memories we've made throughout the years.
  
• Shows so many Acts of love. He is always thinking of others and has a quiet way of going about doing it. This would also explain why every time I go home, I find a huge container of chocolate covered raisins, DDP and all my other sweet tooth favorites.


• His phone calls just because. I think every time I get off the phone when he calls I say to OB, "I love when my dad calls just to say hi.".


• The ultimate photographer/videographer. Growing up, we would get so mad that he wanted another picture or that he was bringing the video camera along. And now I can't thank him enough for all the wonderful memories. He gave all us kids a set of Home Video DVD's from our entire life and it is something I will always treasure. My Dad is the man behind the camera of my life. This is for sure where I get my love of photography. I now understand why he does it.


• His support, sacrifice, patience and love he's given to my mom and grandparents as they lived with us for 17 years. He never complained and was so sweet to them.


• So many of his traits/hobbies have rubbed off on me. I find myself doing things everyday and thinking, "I am SO my dad!" What a lucky girl I am.
  

I love you Dad!

This Father's Day has been especially hard because we don't have Grandpa with us this year. He was a wonderful person and also shaped alot of who I am. Looking through all my pictures to find one of my dad, I can't help but bawl as I see just as many as my Grandpa too. Ahhh. I miss him. I am also thinking of my mom today. He loved her so much and thought the world of her. I know this is a hard day. Love you mom!

And of course: Happy Father's Day to my adorable husband. He is an amazing Dad. I couldn't ask for a better father to our children. I love that he is always SO excited to see the girls when he comes home and listens patiently as Hallie spits out a bazillion things she's been waiting to tell him. I love that he shares his hobbies with them already and doesn't wait until they're older. He takes them camping, hiking, biking, and lots more. I love that he takes the time to explain and teach things to Hallie. Rather than simply taking the easy way out and saying NO or doing things for her, he explains the reason why to everything and takes the time to teach her and talk with her until she gets it. He plays princess, babysits "Baby Peyton", plays store, house and doctor, gets up early with them and lets me sleep in, sings every word to the Dora song and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse song, etc etc. I could go on. Hallie is Daddy's little girl and her and Peyton love their daddy! Thanks babe for being a great dad.

DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS

I vow never to let my Driver's License expire EVER again!!!! What a day. Texas takes their saying, "Don't Mess With Texas" pretty seriously. Holy Cow! So...here's the quick version of the story.

It's a week before we move. My license expires. I tell Aaron that I will just wait until we get to Texas to get a license because I don't want an Iowa license. Aaron tells me that I should just go get it. I still don't go get it. Now..here in Texas...I get pulled over. Get a big ticket and now need a new license. I look online and had to chuckle a little bit when their motto says big and bold "DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS". I stopped chuckling after I kept reading. I had to freakin take the written and driving test again! I was sweatin bullets. Luckily after some studious studying, waiting at the dang DMV for 3 1/2 hours, and taking the tests (I PASSED!!! HOORAY!!!), I finally have a Texas license. What will my beloved picture look like? Can't wait to find out. Probably a crusty on my face, chia pet hair from the hot humidity and sweaty smelly place, and a greasy shiny forhead from the disgusting eye exam I had to put my face on. SWEET!

Lesson learned! That's for sure.

CATCH UP #1

I have a LOT of catching up to do. Rather than trying to sit down and do it all at once, I will break it up. So...here's catch up #1. Starting with the oldest and working my way to the newest (next 4 posts). More to come...

Farewell to RS Gals

(Chelsea, me, Heidi, Kristi)

I had the opportunity to serve with these girls in the Relief Society Presidency and am so thankful for their friendship and example they have been . Chelsea hosted a "Cafe Rio" night before we left and it was fun to get together with all the families. They have each been so sweet and I cherish their friendships and things I've learned from them.

Heidi took this picture at one of our meetings a long time ago and it makes me laugh just thinking about that day. Here's how she quotes it: (Hope you don't care Heidi :))

When 4 young moms can somewhat successfully carry out a 1 hour and 15 minute Relief Society presidency meeting all while managing 3 two year olds, 1 one year old, 1 four month old, 1 two month old, and 1 two week old, during which time one of us got peed on, one nursed her baby, and among us we changed 6 poopy diapers . . . . then YES, anything can happen.Here we are . . . thoroughly entertained by the sheer chaos of our callings. :o)



When we first got this calling, we all had one child. Eventually one by one, we all announced to each other that we were expecting another (Chelsea is yet to have hers still :)). I will miss these girls SO much. Having our weekly "get togethers", our bazillion emails back and forth, late night chats, helpful common sense tips for Heather, and lots of laughs are just a small portion of things I'll miss.

Garage Sale Fun

Aren't we lookin pretty?

The "Hamptons at Coral Ridge" had quite the sale!!! Me and some friends were all moving around the same time and so we decided to have a garage sale. It was SO fun and we had a pretty dang good turnout. It was so fun to sit back and see what people bought. SERIOUSLY! You'd be surprised. The night before, we sat in my garage and priced stuff and I don't think I had laughed that hard in a long time. Sarah had brought me to tears as she modeled her coveted shoulder pad bedazzled denim teaching dresses! Love them! Sad to think that someone will be purchasing them at the GoodWill. (Sarah, if I still lived there, I would retrieve them! They'd look great here in Texas :)) With this and Craigslist, I made some good money. Can't wait to get new couches!

Hallie's Preschool Friends

Hallie joined two different preschools with some friends and had such a good time. They had a little party at the end and it was great. Hallie looked so forward to going every week and it was nice to get a little break too. Can you tell that she HATES to get her picture taken?

One last Iowa Get Together

Before we moved we had one last get together with some friends. We went out to Kent State Park and BBQ, kayaked, biked, had campfire w/ smores,etc. It was so fun. They have all become our little family out in Iowa.


The Patterson's

Kate has the magic touch. She full on got Peyton to sleep just holding her. That doesn't ever happen! She is so sweet to always take Peyton and pretty much babysit her every time we go somewhere.

Can't forget little "Wookie"! Poor Tucker fell in the lake. He's so adorable.

What I’ve learned the past 2 weeks:

If the first thing that greets you to the neighborhood is a big black hairy bum crack and a smile with no teeth, it can only go uphill from there.

I love power tools!

The local Valero gas station has halfy-hour every day from 11-4 and you can get half price on your fountain drinks (yes..I have already located the nearest one).

I LOVE having a backyard. Hallie and Peyton love it too and think it's so fun to go swimming everyday.

• I may change my opinion about how I hate Walmart so much after shopping at this one.


• It is going to take me all 5 years of living here to figure out how to get anywhere.


• I heart COSTCO!


• Texans are VERY nice people.


• My friends in Iowa (..Sarah R..Sarah S..Candice.. Andrea..just to name a few. You all know who you are..) have made me such a scaredy cat and now have my husband calling me neurotic.


• Our air conditioning went out and we have been living in a 91 degree house for 5 days! When working in close proximity to your husband, deodorant is a necessity for him to wear! (I found that out the hard way.)


• Aaron lost his 3rd wedding ring!!! Seriously! With a really neat story, he did end up finding it.


• Texas cops aren't nice. I lost my track record of getting pulled over and always being able to talk my way out of a ticket. After getting lost on my way to Lowe's and getting stuck in traffic for an hour, I got my first speeding ticket! $191 baby! Sweet! On a positive note, the cop didn't realize my license is expired.


• Texas is no Iowa or Utah. As is any new place, it will take some time to adjust, but I’m sure we will end up loving it.

And on a side note, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to my sweet husband tomorrow. 6 years baby! I can't believe it! I am one lucky girl!

Work in Progress

We made it to Texas! And finally have internet! I felt so lost without TV and Internet! I have become the ultimate worst blogger. So much has happened and I don’t even know where to begin. But…on a positive note, if we ever get settled here I will probably become the ultimate BEST blogger because I will be a lone duck. Don’t worry! I finally got my DVR back after three LONG years of waiting. So I am set! Ha ha.
I have so many different emotions going through this little head of mine. I will choose the positive thoughts to write about and keep those other ones to myself and those few lucky select who get to hear me whine :).
I will write in more detail soon. But to give you an idea of what our lives are like right now…
Here’s our cute little home:

It's so weird to say "MY" house. I don't feel old enough to have one. Aaron said, "Are you serious? I felt old enough a LONG time ago.". It's so fun. I have a doorbell! How fun! I rang it the first time we walked in the house and Hallie says all scared, "Mommy! What was that?" ha ha. And now when I ring it for fun, she says, "Mommy, please don't do that."

Here’s a few pics of what it looked like when we moved in (add filth everywhere though. I swear they hadn’t cleaned in a year! I was so mad!)…

This isn't a good pic of the BRIGHT YELLOW Walls. They for sure loved color. Everyroom seems to be a different color. Too bad I'm a neutral gal!

And here’s what we are living in as we speak…


It’s been a little difficult trying to live in the same place we are doing some major renovating. Add 2 kids on top of that. And add Peyton who has cut her first 4 teeth all at once and decided she wanted to start WALKING! She just turned 10 months a few days ago and she is on fire! I will try to post some video. Hopefully soon, we will have an end to this destruction and be able to not be living out of boxes. We are BUSY AT WORK. I know I always say this but...LOTS more to come REALLY SOON! I promise! To all you Iowa peeps, I MISS YOU! San Antonio is no Iowa City! It is complete opposite. I have all these pics I'll post, but will save for another day. I'm too emotional:).

Fun in the Sun

We just got back from a super fun vacation at the Amelia Islands Plantation Resort in Florida! Aaron got to attend a National Orthopaedic Conference where he presented some reasearch he's been working on. And well...he took me with him. It was AMAZING!

It felt weird to leave Hallie and Peyton behind, but it was so great. My mom said, "When you get on the airplane, you are going to feel like you forgot to put your pants on," and she was right (thanks for the analogy mom :)). I kept feeling like I heard Peyton crying and I'd reach for a binky. It was so nice to be able to do things for myself and spend time with Aaron. Aaron thought I was funny about how excited I would get over little things like being able to read a book and have a drink on the plane and concluded by saying, "I think you needed this trip alot more than I did."

So...you get that it was great! Aaron presented his poster and actually won $500! He was completely surprised. Totally awesome though. He works so hard and I really appreciate all the sacrifice's he does for our family. Aside from why we actually went down there, we enjoyed sleeping in every morning, playing tennis, hanging out at the pool and beach, going out to eat, shopping, walks, and just spending time together. We don't get much of that without kids. We concluded that we need to do something like this once a year. Any takers on child care and funding? just kidding.

My sweet sweet sister Chelsey watched the girls here while we went. And oh...do I love her. I think I gave her enough birth control for awhile after being thrown up on in the face and having to take care of poor little Hallie who got a nasty bug. Cho, you are the best! If you ever decide to have kids after that, I will gladly return the favor :).

This is the view from our deck in our room

Aaron's Poster





My good lookin hubby!


Now..it's back to reality. I need to get my butt in gear. Aaron will be graduating soon. We found a house! And we'll be moving soon. More to come. I will do catch up soon.

A Portion of My Thoughts

Life has been full of so many emotions lately. It's been crazy. I will post more later about other events (because there are many), but for now, I will write what has been most on my mind. My sweet Grandpa.

Grandpa passed away on March 27. A few hours after landing in Texas to go house hunting, I got the phone call from my mom. Being far away at times like this is REALLY hard. Especially when I was supposed to be in house hunting mode, make some huge decisions and meet all these people for the first time (most probably thought I was crazy). And also being really sad that my trip I'd planned to see Grandpa again would actually be to go to his funeral instead. Death is a hard thing for me. I am so grateful for the knowledge I have of the after live but it is still hard for me and still sad. It's so great that he didn't have to suffer long, and that he is with Grandma again. It was hard to see him without his other half. It makes me smile to think of the sweet reunion they had. It will just be so different going home now. They moved in with my family when I was 1o and were a huge part of my daily life. It will be a new change for all of us. It was nice to be able to go home for a bit and be with family. What a great example both him and my Grandma have been to me. They definitely have been a big influence in my life and helped shape who I am.

Each set of Grandkids spoke at the funeral. For some reason I was the designated speaker :). Here's what we came up with:

What it meant to live with Grandpa Dick for 16 years:
· Never coming home to an empty house, because Grandpa was always there and ready for a visit.
· Always having our tummies full of licorice and pockets full of change.
· If by chance you happen to get a staple stuck in your finger, Grandpa would remove it with his pliers, even if he had to chase you down.
· Having someone to sit on the back porch with and have a drink.
· Having a constant example of what it really means to be green. He understood the concept to reduce, reuse and recycle: finding your old car mats with holes as a new welcome mat for Grandpa’s shop, finding newly washed saran wrap hanging in the kitchen, or saving the string from the water softener salt bags.
· Hearing cheerful whistling as Grandpa built his latest problem solving invention, most of which were to make Grandma’s life easier.
· Being proud to introduce him to our friends
· Having another parent to meet and approve our dates.
· Learning the proper order of dining at chuck-a-rama.
· Learning there’s always something to be happy about. Even on the gloomiest days you could expect to see Grandpa with a cheerful smile pointing out an interesting cloud formation.
· Learning that you are never too old to start a new hobby. At the age of 80, Grandpa bought himself a sewing machine, and took great pleasure in hemming his pants (even if one leg ended up 4 inches shorter than the other). This added a new benefit to us as we’d pick up on the latest fashion trends. Such as the blue leopard printed neckerchief Grandpa proudly handcrafted himself.
· Knowing it wouldn’t be long after you walked in the door before Grandpa would hear your footsteps and be up to give you a big hug and a loving hello.
· Learning that golf is a serious game, even when played on a miniature course.
· Watching Jazz games and hearing the phrase “That Kirilenko is a great player. I sure do like him.”
· Having late nights on the couch watching the rodeos.
· Waking up Grandpa, and having him act as if he had never been asleep.
· Seeing a bright pink bird house in your backyard.
· Learning that material possessions are not the most important thing. Like if you happen to wreck your car by hitting a bus or rolling it in the canyon, you could expect Grandpa to calm you down, reminding you it is just a piece of metal.
· Playing Cribbage on the kitchen table.
· Always hearing the phrases “ oh just have a little more” or “Can I get ya anything?” “Do ya need any money?” or “Oh a little licorice never hurt anyone”
· Going on trecks to DI, feeding the ducks, trips to Honks and WalMart.
· Receiving phone calls to inform us about the weather.
· Knowing that if there was a fire in the middle of the night, Grandpa would make a mad dash to get dressed and come running upstairs to help.
· Living with a constant reminder of how marriage was meant to be.
· Hearing, “isn’t she an angel?” when you’re only half way up the stairs.
· Being proud that your Grandpa named you, even if your middle name is Dawn.
· Having an extra hand to help with school projects.
· Hearing over and over that our Mom has never said an unkind word to him.
· Realizing that old age isn’t an excuse to stop learning something new. 90 years old is a great age for your first digital camera.
· Banging pots on New Year’s Eve.
· Seeing a pumpkin on your porch with a cute little sketch of a horse drawn on it.
· Eating Donuts on Saturdays with Grandpa Dick and Grandpa Danny.
· Eating your breakfast with Grandpa by your side reading the newspaper.
· Being able to find a solution to every problem. Like putting up a fence down the middle of the yard so we could have a dog and he could still have his garden.
· Having home-made picture frames
· Remembering that “Once a cowboy, always a cowboy.” Even at the age of 91 he made sure he was equipped with his cowboy hat and boots before ever leaving the house.
· Knowing that even though you could expect him to say he wasn’t hungry at supper time, he always found room to finish everything on his plate.
· Hearing stories about the good ol’ times on the ranch, and very rarely hearing the same one twice.
· Having someone to appreciate your cooking even through the learning years.
· Seeing our parents take tender care of Grandma and Grandpa.
· Pulling up to see Grandpa watering the dry spot on the lawn- and wondering why it only gets bigger every day.
· Learning from him to always make good use of your time. We’d often hear him say “What should I do? What could I be doing?” It was a common occurrence to see him out back smashing pop cans, planting flowers, feeding the birds, working in his shop. And after a snow storm it was always a race to see if you could beat Grandpa outside to shovel the walks.
· Hearing, “Knock Knock is anybody home?” each morning.
· Listening through the monitor to hear the sweet interactions of Grandma and Grandpa.
· Having the opportunity to play in a 4 man scramble golf tournament together and winning a trophy that could be seen on his mantle.
· Buying cinnamon rolls thinking “about others” to share.
· Sharing Christmas mornings with Grandpa.
· Receiving many phone calls wondering where mom was or if we think she’d be home soon.
· Playing games with Grandpa. Even bowling and golfing on the Wii.
· Helping us realize that actions speak louder than words
· Learning that there’s no such thing as too many marigolds.
· Being thanked for every little thing.
· Showing us he believed in people and treated them accordingly.

We count it as one of our biggest blessings to have grown up with Grandpa and Grandma as a part of our home. He has been a great example to us and has changed our lives forever. We will miss him dearly.

While I was in Utah, my sisters and I made my mom a blanket with some of my grandparents memorable clothes and we surprised her with it the day we left. We had so much fun doing this. It for sure was a learning experience seeing that none of us really knew what we were doing. We had a good time reminiscing and spending time together.

Grandpa Dick

Leland Richard "Dick" Briggs

August 6, 1917 -March 27, 2009

Leland Richard "Dick" Briggs passed away at his home, surrounded by his loving family, on Friday, March 27, 2009. He was born on August 6, 1917, son of John and Florence Emma Briggs, at Burnt Fork, Wyoming. He attended high school in Ogden, Utah. He married his high school sweetheart, Gladys Benson, on February 14, 1940 in Manila, Utah. Their marriage was later solemnized in the Idaho Falls Temple on October 21, 1960.

Dick lived most of his adult life ranching with his father, three brothers, and son, Boyd, south of Dillon, Montana. During his life in Montana, he was a master stockman, a member of the Montana Wool Growers Association and Montana Cattlemen's Association. He created many memories with family and friends while hunting and fly fishing on the Red Rock River. In his younger years he was an outstanding calf roper in the rodeo circuit in Montana.

After many years of ranching, he retired to Kalispell, Montana near his daughter, Dicksy. In 1986 they moved to Orem, Utah, and later lived with his daughter, Robin. He loved golfing, playing until he was 90 years of age. He also enjoyed gardening, bird feeding, and caring for his sweetheart, Gladys. He dearly loved his grandchildren and great grandchildren and lived for their phone calls and visits. Dick's greatest attributes were his Christ-like personality, his unmatched hospitality and his selfless acts of kindness.

He is survived by his children, Harold Boyd (Diane) Briggs, Dillon, Montana; Dicksy (Bob) Rhoads, Provo, Utah; Robin (Danny) Olsen, Orem, Utah; and Teena (Jim) Ploeger, Gilbert, Arizona; 17 grandchildren, 39 great grandchildren; brothers, Jack (Allowee) Briggs, and Hugh (LaRue) Briggs; and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his spouse, Gladys; and brother, George Harold.

Funeral services will be held on Thursday, April 2, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. in the Lakeview 6th Ward chapel, 2168 South 140 West, Orem. Friends may call at the Berg Mortuary of Provo, 185 East Center Street, on Wednesday evening from 6 until 8, or at the church on Thursday morning from 9:30 until 10:45. Interment will be in the Eastlawn Memorial Hills Cemetery. Condolences may be sent to info@bergmotuary.com.

Match Day Has Arrived...

Where is the O'Brien family's next new adventure? Where will we spend the next 5 years? The highly anticipated Match Day has finally arrived!

And we are going to...

~ SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS ~

The letter in hand. Hallie's big concern: "Will they have a playground there? Can I bring my toys and my books?"


All the people going into Orthopaedics decided it would be great fun to grow some sweet staches! WOW! I have one good lookin hubby. I'm trying to convince him to keep it :). J/K

The M4's from our LDS church. It's so crazy that when we moved here, there was only one teeny tiny baby amongst us all. We are all going different places across the country and I will surely miss them.

The soon to be orthopaedic surgeons of the class of 2009 (7 for 7)

And Peyton is quite excited too!

I am SO proud of Aaron and all his accomplishments. He has worked SO HARD to get to this point and I know it is a big relief to him to know he's done it! HOORAY!

What season is it?

It's been such crazy weather here. One day the high is in the low 20's the next day it's in the high 50's. Hallie can't quite figure it out.

Exhibit A (a warm day)

Hallie: "Yook Mommy! I got dressed all by my's self."
Me: "Wow! You look so cool."

Hallie: "Mommy, I ready to go. Oh..wait! I be right back. I go get my's purse!"

Me: "Where are we going?
Hallie: "To the playground. It's warmer outside. It not winter no more."Come on Mommy! Come on Peyton! Let's go."

How could you say no to this? he he. P.S. This is the patient look she gave me when I told her I had to take her picture before we left.

Exhibit B (a cold day)

Hallie decided that she had a "swimming pool" in her house. She went swimming all afternoon. Then realized it was raining...
No big deal, she'll just get those rainboots on and she's good to go again! (she played this for over an hour).

We did have a SUPER nice day last week and went to the park. The kids loved it.